UK box office: 'Beauty And The Beast' waltzes to record $24.5m

UK TOP FIVE

Ranking	Film/Distributor	Weekend result	Running total
1	Beauty And The Beast (Disney)	$24.5m (£19.7m)	$24.5m (£19.7m)
2	Kong: Skull Island (WB)	$3.34m (£2.69m)	$13.7m (£11.05m)
3	Get Out (Universal)	$2.67m (£2.15m)	$2.67m (£2.15m)
4	Logan (Fox)	$2.18m (£1.76m)	$25.2m (£20.27m)
5	The Lego Batman Movie (WB)	$636,000 (£512,000)	$33m (£26.6m)

(Note - Dollar conversions are based on today’s rates)

DISNEY

Beauty And The Beast has enjoyed a magical start to its UK box office run.

Disney’s latest live-action remake waltzed to a mighty $24.5m (£19.7m), marking the fifth biggest Fri-Sun opening of all time, behind Spectre’s $24.8m (£19.98m), and the eighth-biggest overall opening based on films that had preview-boosted openings.

The result means Beauty And The Beast has achieved the highest-grossing Fri-Sun opening for a PG-certified movie ever, as well as the biggest ever March opening weekend of all time and the biggest ever opening for a musical ahead of Les Misérables.

In terms of days, the film’s Saturday take of $9.81m (£7.9m) marks the second-biggest Saturday performance of all time, behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ opening Saturday gross of $10.81m (£8.71m), and the second-biggest Sunday performance ever with $8.36m (£6.7m), also behind Force Awakens’ $10.65m (£8.58m).

Whatever way you look at it, Beauty And The Beast’s debut is remarkable and with strong reviews and word-of-mouth, it is anyone’s guess just how much it can take.

Also for Disney, Moana is set to sail past the £20m mark next weekend, a terrific achievement after its opening weekend take of only $2.75m (£2.21m).

WARNER BROS

Due to the monster arrival of Beauty And The Beast, Kong: Skull Island fell more than 50% (excluding previews) with a $3.34m (£2.69m) second weekend.

Warner Bros’ King Kong reboot is now up to $13.7m (£11.05m) in the UK and is tracking behind Godzilla, the first instalment of Legendary’s MonsterVerse, which stood at $14.7m (£11.81m) at the same stage in its run.

Also for Warner Bros, The Lego Batman Movie swung to a $636,000 (£512,000) sixth weekend for a solid $33m (£26.6m) to date.

Wolves At The Door opened to only $4,400 (£3,542) from its 15 sites.

UNIVERSAL

Get Out proved to be savvy counter-programming from Universal as it enjoyed a brilliant debut.

Universal’s critically acclaimed horror scared up a strong $2.67m (£2.15m) from its 470 sites, marking a healthy $5,676 (£4,573) site average, to chart third on its UK bow.

With strong word-of-mouth, the US box office smash will hope to follow Split’s sustained UK run to hit the £10m mark.

Also for Universal, Sing fell 52% on its way to a $273,000 (£220,056) eighth weekend for $35.1m (£28.28m) to date, while Fifty Shades Darker has now whipped up $28.5m (£22.96m).

FOX

Logan has crossed the £20m mark in the UK after three weeks in play.

Fox’s latest X-Men outing dropped 54% with a non-final $2.18m (£1.76m) for $25.2m (£20.27m) to date, making it the third highest-grossing outing of the series to date and it will soon overtake X2’s $25.7m (£20.66m) result.

Also for Fox, Viceroy’s House added $295,000 (£238,057) for $3.88m (£3.12m) after three weeks in play, while Secret Cinema’s production of Moulin Rouge! has amassed $2m (£1.6m) to date.

Hidden Figures and Bollywood title Badrinath Ki Dulhania have grossed $7.11m (£5.73m) and $415,000 (£334,711), respectively.

ALTITUDE

In its fifth weekend, Altitude’s Oscar winner Moonlight took a further $239,000 (£192,676) for $4.78m (£3.85m) to date. It’s currently playing varied shows at 311 sites across this week.

LIONSGATE/TRAFALGAR RELEASING

Elle fell 45% (excluding previews) with a $151,000 (£121,683) second weekend.

Lionsgate and Trafalgar Releasing’s critically acclaimed thriller is now up to $643,000 (£518,029), and will soon become the biggest non-Bollywood foreign language release this year, ahead of Toni Erdmann.

ICON FILM DISTRIBUTION

Personal Shopper has scored director Olivier Assayas’ best-ever UK debut.

Icon Film Distribution’s Cannes winner took $144,000 (£116,116) from its 65 sites, including previews, at a unspectacular site average of $2,213 (£1,786), topping Summer Hours’ UK bow of $72,000 (£58,229) from 23 sites.

Personal Shopper was initially scheduled for an October 28, 2016 release through Metrodome before the distributor went into administration, with Icon picking up the film in October.

Also for Icon, The Love Witch has conjured up $36,000 (£28,887) after two weeks in play.

CURZON ARTIFICIAL EYE

Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman recorded his best-ever UK debut, with one site still to report.

Curzon Artificial Eye’s Oscar winner posted a $118,000 (£95,098) bow from its 27 sites, including previews, at a site average of $4,372 (£3,522), topping The Past’s $82,000 (£65,832) from 31 sites.

A Separation is currently Farhadi’s best-ever UK result with $426,000 (£343,002).

ARROW FILMS

From its one-site release at Bertha Dochouse in Curzon Bloomsbury, Arrow Films’ Gleason grossed $1,900 (£1,535), including previews.

UPCOMING RELEASES

This week sees saturation releases for Lionsgate’s Power Rangers, Warner Bros’ CHiPs and Studiocanal’s The Lost City Of Z.

Sony’s Life and Vertigo Releasing’s Another Mother’s Son both receive wide releases, while Park Circus’ The Eyes Of My Mother and Soda Pictures’ Age Of Shadows are among the films receiving a limited release.